London to Paris: Day 4

This morning, we woke up around 7am to catch the train from Bath to London. Our bed and breakfast in Bath - the Dorian House - was the nicest place we've stayed thus far and offered free breakfast as part of our room rate. We stopped down before leaving and were greeted by the house owner and another employee who took our orders. Andi opted for the buffet of yogurt, cheeses, granola and cereal. I selected a "traditional English breakfast," complete with free-range eggs, local bacon and sausage, button mushrooms, grilled tomato and toast. The butter here is very rich and creamy (one of my fav's -- you know how much I love butter!) and the eggs and mushrooms were tasty. The bacon, however, was a little too undercooked for my liking. It was okay, but tasted a lot like ham ... and ham is one of my least favorite foods. Although if you don't like your bacon extra crispy you would have liked it just fine.

Breakfast Buffet

Traditional English Breakfast

After breakfast, we walked about 10 minutes to the train station and hopped on for the 1 1/2 hour ride back to London. Traveling by train is such a convenient way to get around. Signs and terminals are clearly marked and easy to navigate. We arrived at Paddington Station and connected to King's Cross where we met the EuroStar, a high-speed train that travels beneath the English Channel to France. The train ride took about 2 hours and we arrived in Paris around 3:30pm. One thing we should have done differently is book the EuroStar tickets in advance. We scoped them out about a week before the trip and a ticket was $60/each. However, since we waited until the last minute, we ended up paying $150/each.

If you're wondering why our faces look so red in photos, it's because it is freaking cold here. I think it's because we're outside most of the day or in train stations with no heat. I know it's probably not as bad as the winter freeze the Midwest is experiencing this week, but at home the walk from my house to car to office isn't far. Walking outside for hours on end definitely sends a shiver down my spine It's probably around 20-30 degrees here at the warmest part of the day and 10-15 degrees once sun sets around 4:30pm.

Finding your way in a new city is always a bit sketchy at first. We connected from the EuroStar terminal to another one close to our hotel. The Metro's underground so when you walk up the stairs to street level, there's always this strange "where the hell are we?" moment. (Although, there's always a Starbucks within eye sight so you never feel too bewildered). We jumped in a cab and arrived at the Marriott in the Latin Quarter of the city. We found another amazing hotel deal on Priceline.com. Sometimes we're paying less for a hotel night than we do for a mediocre breakfast. And since we've got no agenda for the trip, we are able to pick and choose a hotel depending on where we are or what we're doing.

Marriott Hotel

After freshening up a bit at the hotel, we hopped onto the Metro and rode the train to the Eiffel Tower stop. I got goosebumps as we walked up to it, all lit up in the night's sky. It was absolutely breathtaking.

Next we walked to a wine bar called Rife and ate dinner. We ordered a bottle of wine, a frommage plat (cheese plate), duck confit, roasted chicken and creme brulee for dessert for about 50 Euro ($65). The food was great and we even practiced a little French with the waitress as we told her bonsoir (good evening) and merci (thank you).

Frommage Plat

Creme Brulee

We're excited to see all the Paris sites tomorrow!